Dear Baby,

Thought you might like to know a bit about our life before you make your entrance. Right now, we work a lot to build a life for us as a family, but we also enjoy our free time together in a lot of different ways. We love to travel, and our married life has included lots of adventures that we’ve truly enjoyed. Traveling keeps us aware of how big the world is. I think that perspective is important. We also have hobbies that we enjoy. We both read a lot of books! We hope you are a reader, too, because we know how entertaining, inspiring and informational it can be! Other than that, I like to sew quilts and take a lot of pictures. Your dad really likes to work with his computers (there are 6 — not all working — computers in our house right now!). Also, your dad likes to home brew. So, when you are 21 you can try your dad’s special brewski. I am thinking “A Brew for my Baby” would be a great name for that brew!

Love,
Mama

Washington, DC — 4th of July, 2006

Cancun, Mexico — Summer 2005

Roatan, Honduras — Summer 2005

Our Honeymoon in Jamaica — December 2002

Dear Baby,

Of all the people in the world, I think the person who has most prepared me for being a mom is Madison. Madison is a special friend of mine, she is Chris and Jackie’s daughter. I am so lucky because I get to spend a lot of time with her, and her 4-year-old wisdom inspires me! She’s taught me how much fun a mess is. She’s taught me that the dishes can wait and that being outside is usually better than being inside. She’s taught me that we all need limits and that there is no substitute for being comfortable with someone. She’s very dear to me, and she’ll be around a lot, I’m sure. I know you will love her, too.

Love,
Mama

Madison at the Kitchen Counter with Finger Paints!

Dear Baby,

I spent spring break in New York City with my dear friend Elizabeth. She is a great friend because we make the same kind of jokes, she tells me the truth no matter what and she knows how to pick me up when life throws me a curve ball. I met her during that first year of teaching that I already told you about. Our friendship is proof that great things come out of challenging times. We were both first year teachers… we needed each other for survival! You will know her very well, too. We had an awesome time, and you were there with us, so I thought I better share some pictures! Elizabeth got you an “I love NY” onesie that you’ll wear someday, too!

Love,
Mama

Elizabeth and I at the Today Show!

Your “I Heart NY” Onesie

Dear Baby,

It’s kind of hard to explain what I do now, but basically I work with a lot of teachers. This means I am in a lot of classrooms, which causes me to reflect on the time I spent as a teacher. I will probably be a teacher again, too, because I really do enjoy it. Anyway, I wanted to share with you the life lessons I learned when I took my first teaching job. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I started midyear (which is a rough thing when you are a teacher) in 7th grade (which is a rough age to teach when you are a teacher) in a classroom where I was the minority. Your Grandma K. even came to stay with me for a little while, just to get me on my feet because I was having such a difficult time. That first year lasted 80 days (from February 1 to the end of the year). Around day 20 I started panicking, thinking I had spent the last 4 years in college getting a degree to do something I hated. Well, I don’t remember exactly what I taught that first 80 days, but I will never forget what I was taught that first 80 days. I learned that the moment when you think you can’t go on is usually the moment things turn around. I learned that respect is learned and then earned. I learned that our life circumstances influence and change us, but we cannot give them the power to define us. I learned that each of us has the power to influence others. I learned that perseverance is everything. And, just so you know, by the end of the year, I loved it. I signed my contract and taught at that very school, that very grade level for 2 more years. My hope is that you will find something you love. And I will come and stay with you if it is very hard at first, just to get you on your feet.

Love,
Mama

Dear Baby,

Tonight we got a special card and gift for you from Bobby and Kelly. It was so cute I had to share it!

Love,
Mama

Card

Your First Pair of Shoes!

Dear Baby,

I pray for you every day, and I realized that there is a pattern to my prayers. I always ask God to bless you with a clear calling on your life – no matter what the calling is (Will you be a lawyer? An actor/actress? A teacher? A social worker? A business person?) so that you will always know what you are meant to do, I pray that you will never know a time of separation from Him and I ask that He would keep you from any unnecessary suffering. So, that’s my prayer for you, today and everyday. I believe in prayer as a life-changing, path-altering, miracle-creating communication. Someday I will teach you to pray.

Love,
Mama

This hangs in your room… Just a reminder.

Dear Baby,

Words are a very powerful thing. I was in a teacher’s classroom today, and there was a poster on the wall that said this:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God; your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

-Marianne Williamson from A Return to Love

When I read it, I thought of you. I hope you always have the courage to be who you are. I believe there is greatness in that. It makes you a natural leader in the forward motion of society. When each of us is who we were intended to be, we send a message to others to do the same.

Love,
Mama

Dear Baby,

There are a lot of people we want you to meet. I’ll introduce them slowly! First, you should know Kelly and Bobby. We have a great time together, and we spend a lot of time with them. You will know them very well, too, no doubt! They are just a lot of fun. We travel with them a lot and we always find our way into hilarious situations! Here are a couple of pictures of them.

Love,
Mama

Bobby and Kelly at our Wedding (I told you they are funny!)

Bobby and Kelly in the Airport before one of our Vacations!

Dear Baby,

Today I was thinking about what you might look like. Will you be blond as a child like me? Will you have your dad’s brown eyes? I thought I’d take a look at some of our baby pictures for some ideas!

Love,
Mama

Dad

Dad

Mama

Mama

Dear Baby,

I was just thinking you might want to know how all this came to be. I met your dad when we were in college at NAU in Flagstaff. He is an amazing man. My favorite things about him are that he is unashamedly honest and very, very funny in a nonchalant way. Also, he’s very intelligent and gives of himself without hesitation. Anyway, Dad and I were assigned to work together one summer, and we connected instantly. We were already friends, so that made it even more fun. So we dated for a while, and then I graduated (I am 2.5 years older than your dad). The week of my graduation he asked me to marry him. I said yes. Dad spent the next year finishing college while I took my first teaching job (which will most likely be a topic revisited later in this blog), and then we got married in Tucson. Most of your extended family was there. It was a wonderful celebration. Then, we settled here in Phoenix. We’ve been married for just over 4 years, and about 2 months before our 5th Anniversary, we’ll meet you! One wish I have for you is that you will find a soul mate with whom you can spend your life. It makes everything great even greater and everything tragic less so.

Love,
Mama

Mom and Dad in 2000 at NAU

Our Wedding Day — December 28, 2002